Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech and Kyle Orland demo some of the game offerings on Microsoft's new 4K Xbox One X. Read the article: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/06/first-impressions-xbox-one-x-doesnt-quite-bring-the-wow-factor/

In this week's podcast, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps season 2, episode 4 of The Expanse, as we join the crew as they commence their plan to take the Nauvoo on its mission to Eros, and the noose tightens on Protogen and its allies back on Earth, thanks to everyone's favorite UN badass, Avasarala. Jonathan also talks with award-winning sci-fi author Kameron Hurley about space opera in general, biotech in science fiction, and some of the politics in The Expanse.

Exclusive footage of the motion picture "LIFE", courtesy of Columbia Pictures. Extraterrestrial life shows up on our doorstep, and boy is it pissed. Read the article: https://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/02/life-is-a-modern-spin-on-the-haunted-space-house-genre/

In this episode of Decrypted: The Expanse, Ars Technica's Jonathan Gitlin recaps episode 3 of season 2, The Rocinante crew and Fred Johnson deal with the aftermath of Miller's decision, Mars soldiers gear up for a fight, as Earth's government tries to figure out the OPA's motives. Jonathan also talks with showrunner Naren Shankar about creating the show, originally studying to be a PHD-level engineer, and why he decided to take the Hollywood career route.

In this episode of Decrypted: The Expanse, we join the Syfy show in its second season. Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Jonathan Gitlin talk about the show's many layers, themes and the adaptation from the books. Jonathan also talks to Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the authors of the books (under the pen name James SA Corey), about the challenges of adapting for the screen. NOTE: there is a minor spoiler from one of the later books in this podcast.

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to Ti Chang of sex toy maker Crave about their unique sex toys and the business of their design and creation. Recorded live at Longitude in Oakland, CA on Jan 18, 2017.

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech plays Rec Room, a social VR game that offers several different games inside a virtual, social rec room, but also finds the creepy behavior of social media can still be a problem in virtual reality.

Topics discussed: We just don't care that William and MIB are the same person; how Maeve's final revelation completely sold her character short; why Bernard why; the differences between Arnold and Ford's ideas about consciousness; W.E.B. Dubois' idea of double consciousness; robots and slavery (and some of the not-so-subtle racial subtexts); the trouble with Dolores (it's still not clear why she's leading the rebellion); and how much we want Felix to be promoted (go Felix go!).

This week's guest is Norman Chan, co-founder of Tested, where he writes and makes videos about science, technology, and pop culture. He is a huge fan of Westworld, and has some fascinating observations about which robot characters are the most realistic.

Topics discussed: Why the MIB is really looking for the maze, what makes the gameplay in Westworld so unsatisfying, Jane's so-crazy-it-just-might-work theory about who the MIB really is, how many timelines are floating around inside Dolores' head, whether it's cheating on your partner if you have sex with a robot, how many people are actually robots, Maeve, loops, the series as a game, and whether there's something inherently limiting about the Western story.

Topics discussed: Metafiction (i.e. fiction about fiction), what the hell with the Bernard reveal, the challenge of telling a story that feels familiar yet surprising, whether the robots are just like humans or radically different (yes and no), Ford's real motivations (it's complicated), how intellectual property might be the enemy of storytelling, whether stories can be dangerous (sometimes), what characters and ideas got Yu excited about writing for Westworld, and why Felix is so important.

In this Ars Technica podcast ep: The unregistered robots, Maeve's attribute matrix, what it means to be trapped in a narrative (male and female roles for robots are both terrible), when will a guy have sex with a male robot (it can't happen soon enough), why the park offers no romance stories or female-centric adventures (what? ladies don't want sex?), and how Dolores and Maeve are trapped in the middle of an argument between Ford and Arnold (plus they are the ultimate victims of gaslighting).

In this episode of Ars Technica's podcast Decrypted: Westworld, our guest is Ars Senior Tech Editor Lee Hutchinson. Topics discussed: The state of Dolores' mind, Ford's freaky conversation with the MIB, the economics of Westworld, the economics of the real world, the two faces of Lawrence (El Lazo!), what's going on in Pariah, how guns work in Westworld, why it's important that the bots use GPS, and how the two most popular fan theories about Westworld just got nuked (bye bye double timeline).

On this episode, I'm joined by Ars Technica's video editor Jennifer Hahn, who is a documentary filmmaker and editor. We talk about the recent episode, as well as how it fits into the world established in the original Westworld movie, its sequel Futureworld, and the short-lived 1980 TV series Westworld. Jen also talks to us about Westworld's cinematography and design.

At New York Comic Con 2016, actors Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Cas Anvar and Wes Chatham, EP Mark Fergus and authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck took some time out to talk about The Expanse, adapting the books, and dropped some hints about season 2.

The Mr Robot: Red Wheelbarrow book trailer as recorded at the book panel with writers Sam Esmail and Courtney Looney at New York Comic Con 2016. The book will be released November 1, 2016. Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2016/10/mr-robot-red-wheelbarrow-is-just-as-crazy-as-it-needs-to-be/

In our debut podcast episode of Decrypted: Westworld, we talk about the show's many layers of conspiracies, and its overarching themes. We're joined by award-winning science fiction author Charlie Jane Anders, who talks to us about how the series grapples with the idea that memory is key to identity, and wonders whether Westworld can achieve the same mainstream popularity as Game of Thrones.

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech visited The Coalition, the company responsible for the latest Gears of War 4 release, and talked about the Gears legacy, updates, and giving the audience what they've asked for. Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/09/gears-of-war-4-reveals-offline-lan-free-matchmaking-dlc-smooth-4k-on-pc/

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech wandered the floor of Pax West 2016, played some video games, talked to game developers and reveled in the gaming cornucopia of retro games, pinball board and card games, never-ending baubles and cosplay. Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/09/less-hype-more-games-a-whirlwind-look-at-the-playable-fun-of-pax-west/

"succ3ss0r" (S2E8) did the unthinkable—an entire episode of Mr. Robot *without* Elliot. Even show staff writer/head technical producer Kor Adana didn't see that coming. "I had a lot of anxiety and I know the other writers in the room had a lot of anxiety, because we weren’t sure how it was going to be received," he told us in a long chat for this week's pod. "The question was: did we do enough work early in S2 laying the groundwork for our supporting cast to carry an episode?"

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech takes a spin around the galaxy for the first time, discovering planets, aliens and other weird stuff in No Man's Sky.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/08/the-first-dozen-hours-of-no-mans-sky-soaring-past-disappointment/

With "logic_b0mb" (S2E5), Mr. Robot's second season reached another level. From the FBI's tragedy to the reunion of our main characters, the episode seemed to address any lingering concerns fans may have from the slower pace of S2 thus far.
Given how significant the happenings were this week, we devoted the entire pod to breaking down what made logic_b0mb so effective. Touching on everything from Ray to Joanna Wellick, fsociety to Whiterose, there are clearly spoilers ahead.

Steven Strom bravely played several of the PC games on Metacritic's worst list for Ars Technica, and recorded some gameplay "highlights". Painful lessons.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/08/what-i-learned-playing-metacritics-all-time-worst-scoring-pc-games/

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Tiffany Kelly spoke with Hannu Rajaniemi about his origins as a novelist in science fiction and as a scientist, and subjects of larps, complex systems, DNA, sci-fi influences and limitations. Filmed in front of a live audience at Longitude bar in Oakland, CA. (Edited)
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/video/2016/08/submarines-spaceships-startups-and-sci-fi-the-life-of-hannu-rajaniemi/

Ars Technica's Peter Bright attends Star Trek Academy at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City. The exhibit celebrates Star Trek's 50th Anniversary and its connection to space, NASA and the Intrepid museum, as it sends each visitor through Starfleet Academy.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2016/07/join-starfleet-academy-at-new-yorks-intrepid-sea-air-space-museum/

On our debut Decrypted podcast episode, we look back to season one of the hacker drama, Mr. Robot. Ars reviewer Jonathan Gitlin talks how "they break down and experience their delusions" is what made Mr. Robot compelling. We also talk with one of the most familiar TV voices around: NPR's Chief Critic Eric Deggans.
This podcast episode can also be found on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/arstechnica/decrypted-01

Analogue Nt offers hardware and software enhancements for "videophile" gamers who want to play Nintendo NES games with enhanced video and audio quality.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/07/analogue-nt-a-museum-grade-nes-for-a-museum-grade-price/

WARNING: Silly outtakes from video: Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech and Lee Hutchinson meet in virtual reality to play - or more like play around with - tabletop games such as chess, checkers and RPG in Berserk Games' Tabletop Simulator for HTC Vive.

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech and Lee Hutchinson meet in virtual reality to play - or more like play around with - tabletop games such as chess, checkers and RPG in Berserk Games' Tabletop Simulator for HTC Vive.

Clip from the film "MAN VS SNAKE: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler" which follows Tim McVey - the first man to earn over one billion points in any videogame - as he finds himself defending his title against an Italian kickboxer who has surpassed McVey’s score three decades later in 2011. Featuring cameos from gaming legends like Billy Mitchell and Walter Day, Jr.,

Clip from the film "MAN VS SNAKE: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler" which follows Tim McVey - the first man to earn over one billion points in any videogame - as he finds himself defending his title against an Italian kickboxer who has surpassed McVey’s score three decades later in 2011. Featuring cameos from gaming legends like Billy Mitchell and Walter Day, Jr.,

Clip from the film "MAN VS SNAKE: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler" which follows Tim McVey - the first man to earn over one billion points in any videogame - as he finds himself defending his title against an Italian kickboxer who has surpassed McVey’s score three decades later in 2011. Featuring cameos from gaming legends like Billy Mitchell and Walter Day, Jr.,

After years of waiting, we finally got play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at E3 2016. But with an open world, a stamina system, and a whole bunch of different (and breakable) weapons, does it really feel like a Zelda game? Or was the series finally due a change?

Wilson's Heart is a dark, psychological thriller with a unique art style from Kinect veterans Twisted Pixel, while The Unspoken let's you fling fireballs at friends in a one-on-one multiplayer battle. Both are will released alongside Oculus Touch later this year.

Some thought Sony might reveal details about the PlayStation Neo at E3, but it stuck to its guns and revealed a slew of games instead. But was it enough, or did Sony need to do more to keep up with Microsoft?

Microsoft dropped a bomb at E3 2016 in the form of the Xbox One Scorpio, a new console due for release in 2017 that will play games in 4K and run a VR headset. But what do all those specs mean for the gamer? Where does the Xbox One S fit in? And will existing Xbox owners upgrade?
Read more at Ars Technica. http://bit.ly/24MYWy0

We explore the rise of the strong female character pattern in Game of Thrones season 6, and wonder if it will again be destroyed by everyone's favorite murderous author.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/staff/2016/06/the-female-ethos-in-game-of-thrones/

Ars Technica's Kyle Orland destroys some mutant zombies on another planet in the new DOOM in single-player mode.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/05/doom-single-player-impressions-hell-and-back-again/

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech stuffed a VR wand down his pants to facilitate motion in VR (game used to test is a prototype called "RIPmotion" by Ryan Sullivan on the HTC Vive).
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/04/for-vr-walking-forget-treadmills-just-stick-a-vive-wand-down-your-pants/

Ars Technica's Valentina Palladino visited the Storyscapes exhibition at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and experienced some uses of Virtual Reality that aren't aimed strictly at gaming. The VR products include: 6x9 Solitary Confinement - a journalism piece by The Guardian, Sens - a graphic novel turned into VR, The Turning Forest - a VR fairy tale by the BBC, and Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness - an experience based on an audiobook about what it's like to go blind.

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech visited the Ms. PAC-MAN postmortem panel at GDC 2016 and shared a few clips from the presentation.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/03/post-mortem-ms-pac-man-diablo-dissected-by-their-original-devs/

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech and Kyle Orland found some new VR games and controllers at GDC 2016.
Read the article/view gallery: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/03/at-gdc-a-show-floor-littered-with-vr-and-pr-gimmicks/

Ars Technica's Sam Machkovech unboxes the new HTC Vive Pre and installs it in his living room.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/03/my-virtual-living-room-setting-up-a-social-vr-space-in-the-house/

While the popularity of the fighting games may have waned since its peak in the 1990s, the genre has maintained a persistent following among a hardcore segment of competitors that gather at tournaments and haunts like Next Level Arcade.

As Ars US' Sam Machkovech and Ars UK's Mark Walton discuss, Guitar Hero Live is the rhythm game for the people who got bored of rhythm games.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/guitar-hero-live-review-this-is-how-you-make-rhythm-games-relevant-again/

Ars Technica's Gaming Editor Kyle Orland tries on his very own Pip-Boy (!!) as he unboxes the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition.
Read the article: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/11/unboxing-our-very-own-limited-edition-fallout-4-pip-boy/